Coming Home

I am not a veteran, but I admire and am interested in the veteran's in my country. I am a high school student and I have a couple questions I'm hoping people can answer.

I'm curious about the early stages of your transition home. When your deployment ended, was there some sort of exit counseling? Did this take place in the states? Was there anybody that helped your transition back into the states? Any stories you would like to share about the first days back in the states?

Thanks!

Billyair wrote:I am not a veteran, but I admire and am interested in the veteran's in my country. I am a high school student and I have a couple questions I'm hoping people can answer.

I'm curious about the early stages of your transition home. When your deployment ended, was there some sort of exit counseling? Did this take place in the states? Was there anybody that helped your transition back into the states? Any stories you would like to share about the first days back in the states?

Thanks!

Hello and welcome to the forum! We have an introduction section where you can tell us a bit about yourself and what not. You'll find not only collectors but Veterans as well who have served in a variety of areas and branches. Most will want to know a bit about you before answering questions.


Red

The base I was at offered pre-transition counseling through the Mental Health clinic. You could visit them in the clinic or go to one of their seminars on-base. There is also a redeployment health questionnaire that you fill out as part of your medical clearance to head back home. Any red flag indicators (depression, lack of interest, stated frustrations, etc.) resulted in a mandatory appointment to see a provider, just to make sure everything is alright.

Some First Sergeants and Commanders had their own presentations at commander's calls, and the Wing Staff Agency also had its own redeployment/reintegration presentation that it gave at the mass outprocessing briefings.

Upon returning home, there is another reintegration briefing at your home installation. All of the briefings contained the same basic information:

1. Redeployment can be stressful.
2. Both you and your family have changed in your absence.
3. People have adjusted to your absence and getting reacquainted with them will take time.
4. Don't rush headlong into big decisions or large investments.
5. Ease back into your home life.
6. Don't forget about hobbies, family, and quality time.
7. Don't fall into bad habits or toxic coping methods (drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.)
8. If you need help, reach out -- chaplains, Mental Health, Family Advocacy, Military OneSource, etc.

Redeployment goes differently for everyone. Most people I knew didn't have a bad time of it, but it depends on many factors, to include your unit leadership, you, your experiences, and your family situation, etc. The approach is kind of "one size fits all", which though appreciated, may miss some of the special cases requiring more assistance or special attention when help is needed. However, I will say reintegration processing and services have come a long way, even in the few short years I've been in. There is a lot of help available now that wasn't in times past...but I still feel there's room for improvement.

While we conducted mandatory briefings for the return home (while we were still in theater), for us it was pretty much "old news." I was with the 5th Special Forces Group, which rotated over to Iraq for a 10-month rotation, then home for 10 months, back to Iraq for 10 months, then home , etc, etc, etc. You get the picture.

That being said, there were usually a fair number of adjustments to make between being down range (military-speak for "over there." Also used the "sand box.") and at home:

* Getting readjusted to "normal" vehicular traffic. Each time I came home from overseas deployment, my wife hated the way I drove - way too fast and erratic; constantly scanning the road for debris or any other thing which might b an IED; constantly switching lanes, etc ...

* Being reacquainted with "mundane" household concerns. After months of living in a combat zone, its really difficult to get overly concerned about a broken washing machine; the tire that's getting bald on one of the cars; getting the dog's rabies vaccination up to date, etc ... The fact is that life down range is really quite simple: Do your job and keep yourself and your guys safe and alive. Easy schedule to follow - work then sleep; work then sleep; get in some fitness training when you can, watch a movie on your laptop, etc ...

* Getting your head back into being a attentive husband and father (if applicable). Getting over how much taller your son is now, as compared to when you left; being surprised at seeing your daughter with braces in her mouth; trying to enjoy an intimate meal with your wife without shoveling your food into your mouth as fast as you can.

And there are the behaviors associated with preparing to return back overseas. My wife and daughters told me of how distant I started to get the few weeks before I left home. While not particularly liking it, they all at least understood that my mind was on so many other things: Unit equipment brought back up to snuff and ready to be loaded into our shipping containers; getting your guys back to the rifle range to make sure their weapons are correctly zero'd in; medical and dental and immunizations are all done for everybody; individual equipment accounted for for all your men; getting guys out on personal leave to visit family before deployment. Somewhere in all of this is trying to ensure that your home and family are taken care of before you leave: cars have good batteries and tires (after all, winter will be around the corner for them); home appliances are good to go; financial issues are resolved at home; finding time to take the family up to Michigan to visit the grandparents, etc ... You get the picture.

So many details to see to coming and going.

My transition was a bit different. I went to OEF as an individual and OIF as part of a eclectic group of people from all services and different government organizations. I returned both times by myself via commercial air into DC. No counseling. Picked up by my family at the commercial airport and in a matter of 24-48 hrs of leaving country sitting back in my living room. Nothing too dramatic just odd in a time-warp sort of thing. If that makes sense.

I will add that after my retirement I worked for a company made up primarily of former SOF and SMU guys. I went to Afghanistan as an armed civilian contractor (our contract had us traveling to remote combat outposts).

I flew commercial to Dubai, then charter flight full of contractors from there to Bagram. I'll admit that it was pretty lonely flying over by myself. At least on the charter flight I was surrounded by other Americans.

It was a whole different world being downrange as a civilian and not as a Soldier.